Brian Panfil Allegedly Recommends Unsuitable Mutual Fund Switches

The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the possible misconduct of former securities broker Brian Panfil. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Brian Panfil has been the subject of a FINRA sanction.

Brian Panfil was an Illinois based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twelve years. During his career, he was registered with eight different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.

His Registrations

• American Century Investment Services (2002-2003)


• Ameriprise Financial Services (2003-2006)


• IDS Life Insurance Company (2003-2006)


• Caldwell International Securities (2006-2013)


• Ridgeway & Conger (2013-2015)


• Paulson Investment Company (2015)


• Kingsbury Capital (2015)


• Institutional Securities (2015)

The Allegations

Brian Panfil was sanctioned by FINRA in November 2017. The findings in this matter state that he allegedly engaged in a pattern of short-term mutual fund switch trading in his customers' accounts. He frequently recommended to his customers that they sell the Class A mutual funds that they had just purchased two or three months prior.

Brian Panfil allegedly recommended at least twenty-four mutual fund switches which resulted in $27,924 more in sales charges than the customers would have paid if Panfil recommended they hold existing positions. Most of these sales charges were given to Brian Panfil as his fees and commissions.

The findings concluded that Brian Panfil had no reasonable basis to believe that these recommendations were suitable for these customers. Due to the allegations against him, he was barred by FINRA from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.

What Does This Mean?

Securities brokers have an obligation to always act in the best financial interests of their customers. The main part of this means placing them in suitable trading strategies. The above mentioned allegations construct a narrative of a securities broker that executed highly unsuitable short term trades with the express purpose of generating commissions for himself. This is a very self-serving practice which is contrary to the customer's best interests.

Oakes & Fosher Can Help

Many investors are unaware of the legal recourse available to them after losing money due to securities broker fraud and/or negligence. The truth is that investors who have lost money in this fashion may be entitled to damages. Oakes & Fosher dedicates its entire legal practice to helping investors across the nation. If you, or someone you know, have lost money investing with Brian Panfil, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. Oakes & Fosher handles cases on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.